June 27, 2022 Ketchikan, Alaska

Today was the last port of our 7 day Alaskan cruise.  I started the day sitting on the veranda on our cabin in shorts and a tank top tanning in the sun with my morning coffee.  It was 80 degrees in Ketchikan today.  The locals were absolutely miserable in the heat.  They said every one was flocking to the beaches and that no one had air conditioning.  We were cleared to get off the ship around 11:00. We had a little time to walk around the pier and do some shopping before our 12:15 excursion.  We took a bus to the northernmost part of Ketchikan to the George Inlet Lodge.  There we walked down 79 steps to a cute resteraunt for a crab luch.  A nice red ale for me and a couple of sodas for the girls and topped off with a yummy cheesecakemcovered with blueberries.  We stopped at the gift shop where we grabbed a few souverniers and then it was the walk back up those 79 stairs.  A little harder on a full tummy but we made it  LOL!!  There was also a shuttle availible for those who were unable to make the walk.   Then we were back on the bus and back into town to attend ‘The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show”. It was entertaining, it was good for a laugh or two, and the lumberjacks were easy on the eyes.  Then we had a short walk back to the ship past the shops we had been in ealier.  We were back on the ship by about 4:30pm.   We have had extremely small excursion group this trip.  A refelection of the lower capacity of the ship maybe?  I’m not really sure.  Our group numbers have been 5, 9, and 14.  We are typically used to being on a bus full of fellow passengers so all of our excrusion have felt like VIP tours this trip.  We have been cautious while on the buses wearing our masks to stay healhty.  Note to Holland America, they need a line item on the laundry sheet for maks to be sent out for washing.  Also, today Megan purchased postcards for the first time ever.  She filled them out throughout the day and we found a post office box for her to drop them into to mail back to her friends in Cayucos.  She was very proud of herself.  Tonight we had a very delicious meal in the Pinnacle Grill.  Another wonderful walk down memory lane to indulge in a few delicacies that we had not had in quite a while.  After dinner Megan went off to spend time with the other teens and Valerie and I went to the dance companies performance entitled “Musicology”. The dance company currently on the ship is doing a wonderful job keeping the guest entertained.  There is one last performace tomorrow evening so we had a total of four different performances over the course of our week long cruise.  I will say it was more then I expected and I have been pleasnatly surprised and impressed.  Tonight was also the Organge party.  A Holland America tradition with a nod to the dominant color of the company’s logo and flag.  The Rolling Stone Club was definitely hopping.  We stayed till about 10:30 and then cuddled in with a movie.  We move our clocks back forward an hour tonight and get back onto CA time.  I am sad tomorrow is our last day on the Zuiderdam.  I know we will spend the day packing up, trying to soak up the last of our vacation, making sure we have all our questions answered in preparation for the World Cruise in January, writing thank you notes to the crew members that have gone above and beyond to take care of us, and a few scheduled activities around the ship.  We can hear the fog horn blowing again tongiht.  Over the weekend a ship collided with an iceberg in the middle of the night.  I am glad that wasn’t our ship and it definitely makes me a little nervous for our sail back to Vancouver.  But I have full confidence in our captain that he will keep us safe and sound.  Hugs from the girls and I.